Yearly Meeting #31 of Southern Appalachian Yearly
Meeting and Association
Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, North Carolina
June 8, 2001 - Sixth
Day (Friday) 1 pm
1. Opening
After a period of silence, Clerk Penelope Wright read
the following lines, which she modified from a hymn:
Lord, speak to me, that I may speak
In living echoes of thy tone;
As thou has sought, so let me seek
The way to do thy work.
Worship in
Song, #165
She welcomed Friends to the 31st annual session of
Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association.
2. Roll
call
Assistant Clerk Sharon Annis read the roll of monthly
meetings and worship groups. The following were represented at the beginning of
this first session: Anneewakee, Asheville, Atlanta, Berea, Birmingham, Boone,
Celo, Charleston, Chattanooga, Cleveland, Columbia, Cookeville, Foxfire,
Greenville, Memphis, Nashville, New Moon, Royal, Swannanoa, West Knoxville.
A list of Yearly Meeting attenders is attached as
Appendix A. Separate attendance lists are not included for particular Yearly
Meeting sessions.
State of the Meeting Reports are attached in Appendix
B.
3. Announcements
Administrative Assistant Mary Calhoun announced that
copies of SAYMA's Guide to Our Faith and Our Practice and the handbook
are available from the office for those with SAYMA positions of responsibility.
Margaret Cooley and Susan Carlyle made announcements
regarding local arrangements and registration.
4. Welcome
of visitors from other yearly meetings
Friends welcomed Arthur Larrabee, our evening speaker,
from Central Philadelphia Monthly Meeting, Philadelphia Yearly Meeting; and
Nancy Clark, Homewood Friends Monthly Meeting, Baltimore Yearly Meeting.
5. Representatives
to and from wider Quaker organizations
The clerk welcomed visitors from wider Quaker
organizations, SAYMA representatives to those organizations and others from
SAYMA who serve in the organizations. She read traveling minutes and letters of
introductions for some of the visitors.
American Friends Service Committee
From SAYMA: Daryl Bergquist, Jonah McDonald, Sallie
Prugh and Bill O'Connell
Friends Committee on National Legislation
From SAYMA: Sue May (for Joe Taylor), Charles Cliver
(not present) and Nancy Lee-Riffe (Board)
Friends General Conference
Visitors: David Wood, Virginia Wood and Deborah Fisch.
From SAYMA: John Geary, Sharon Annis and Penelope
Wright (ex officio)
Friends Committee on Outworld Relations
Phil Neal, coordinator
Friends Committee on Unity with Nature
Visitor: Mary Gilbert
SAYMA representatives: Kim Carlyle and Susan Carlyle
Friends for Lesbian and Gay Concerns
SAYMA representative: Angela Love (not present)
Friends World Committee for Consultation
From SAYMA: Kathy Burke, Rachel Weir and Bill Holland
Friends Peace Team
From SAYMA: Kathleen Hardie
Quaker House (Fayetteville, NC)
From SAYMA: Harry Rogers
Right Sharing of World Resources
From SAYMA: Geeta McGahey (also on RSWR Board)
South East Region, American Friends Service Committee
Bert Skellie, interim director
From SAYMA: Daryl Bergquist, Jeremiah Gold-Hopton,
Free Polazzo (executive committee)
YouthQuake
From SAYMA: Priscilla Ewen
6. Epistles
The assistant clerk read an epistle from the Friends
World Committee for Consultation London office and a request for assistance in
finding a pastor from the Friends Meeting of Ballplay, Tellico Plains,
Tennessee.
7. Appointment
of Epistle Committee
The clerk reported that in April, representatives agreed that this year's epistle would be translated into Spanish in order to reach more Friends. At that time, several people volunteered to help with the translation. Since then, the clerk has received a suggestion that the epistle also be translated into French. Friends agreed that if a volunteer is available it would be good also to have a French translation.
No volunteers stepped forward, so the appointment of
an epistle committee was postponed.
8. Nominating
Committee preliminary report
Nominating Committee Clerk Lee Ann Swarm presented the
following nominations for SAYMA positions:
Position Person From To
Clerk Sharon Annis 6/01 6/03
Treasurer Kendall Ivie 6/99 6/02
Nominating Committee Clerk Penelope Wright 6/01 6/03
Member, Nominating Committee Jane Goldthwait 6/01 6/03
SAYF Steering Committee Co-Clerk Margaret Farmer 6/99 6/02
SAYF Steering Committee Co-Clerk Kathleen Mavournin 6/01 6/03
Member, SAYF Steering Committee John Rennie 6/01 6/03
Member, SAYF Steering Committee Bill O'Connell 6/01 6/03
AFSC Corporation Representative Sallie Prugh 1/00 6/03
AFSC/SERO Executive Committee Daryl Bergquist 6/00 6/02
FCNL Representative Charles
Cliver 6/98 6/04
FGC
Representative Penelope
Wright 6/01 6/04
Friends
Peace Teams Kathleen
Hardie 6/99 6/03
Friends approved these appointments.
Lee Ann Swarm raised the issue of the continuance of
the Southern Appalachian Young Friends (SAYF) Oversight Committee. Over the
past year, the Oversight Committee has not had work to do. However, the SAYF
Steering Committee may in the future need assistance to address concerns of the
sort for which the Oversight Committee was formed. Perhaps an alternate system,
in which a clearness committee could be appointed when needed, is in order.
Discussion of laying down the SAYF Oversight Committee was postponed until SAYF
Oversight Committee members could be present.
Two individuals have represented SAYMA to YouthQuake.
The Nominating Committee is inclined to fill this position if and when a
volunteer is led to be involved, but to leave open the possibility of not
filling the position.
Lee Ann Swarm listed positions that are still open and
asked Friends to consider who might be called to serve in these positions. The
Nominating Committee's charge was to return the following day with the rest of
the slate.
Co-registrar Susan Carlyle described the
responsibilities of the co-registrar, one of the open positions. She also
suggested that a portion of the co-registrars' fees at Yearly Meeting be
covered by SAYMA. After brief discussion, further consideration was postponed
until the treasurer could be present to speak to the financial implications of
this proposal.
9. Friends
Committee on Unity with Nature (FCUN)
Kim Carlyle, SAYMA representative to FCUN, presented a
report, which is attached in Appendix C.
10. American
Friends Service Committee (AFSC) Sallie
Prugh and Jonah McDonald, SAYMA representatives to the AFSC Corporation,
reported on their involvement with AFSC. Their written report is attached in
Appendix D. Sallie has been paying special attention to AFSC's work between
conflicting groups in Columbia. Jonah has been particularly interested in
AFSC's developing Africa Initiative and in AFSC's current peacemaking work
involving clergy in Angola. AFSC has undertaken a visioning process that will
address the relationship between AFSC and the Religious Society of Friends.
Sallie encouraged Friends to give her input for an upcoming AFSC visioning
session.
11. The
Prayer of the Tortoise
The clerk read the following:
A little patience,
O God,
I am coming.
One must take nature as she is!
It was not I who made her!
I do not mean to criticize
this house on my back--
it has its points--
but you must admit, Lord,
it is heavy to carry!
Still,
Let us hope that this double
enclosure,
my shell and my heart,
will never be quite shut to You.
Prayers from the Ark
Carmen Bernos de Gasztold
12. The
Prayer of the Glowworm
Following a break, the clerk read the following:
Dear God,
Would You take Your light
A little farther away
from me?
I am a morsel
of cinder
and need Your night
for my heart to dare
to flicker out its feeble star:
its hope, to give to other hearts,
what can be stolen from all poverty
a gleam of joy.
Prayers from the Ark
Carmen Bernos de Gasztold
13. Announcement
Jessie Purvis made an announcement on behalf of Young
Adult Friends.
14. Presentation
of proposed minute on population
On behalf of Celo Monthly Meeting and Cookeville
Worship Group, Geeta McGahey presented revisions to a minute on population that
was approved at last yearly meeting, as follows:
Celo Monthly Meeting and Cookeville
Worship Group have collaborated on a draft of proposed revisions to the
population minute approved at Yearly Meeting 2000. We request approval of these revisions.
The draft minute (revisions bold):
In accordance with Friends testimonies
of equality, simplicity, and harmony, we recognize the sacredness of all life,
the interconnection of all living things, and the balance required to sustain
an acceptable quality of life for all inhabitants of our planet. We are
committed to providing all children with a safe, loving, nourishing, and
habitable world in which to live.
In October 1999, world human population surpassed 6
billion, having doubled since 1960. At the present rate of growth, it is likely
to double again within the new century. The effects of this rapid population
growth exacerbated by excessive consumerism, threaten all of earth's creatures,
placing insupportable demands on her finite resources, creating unmanageable
problems of waste disposal, and intensifying environmental degradation.
While remaining sensitive to the needs
and values of all cultures, we acknowledge our responsibility to become
informed about world population growth and the concerns it raises. Through our
leadings and sharings, we will seek knowledgeable, loving, and creative ways of
working towards effective and realistic solutions. These include providing education on and means of contraception
for both sexes, encouragement of adoption as an alternative to having
biological children, and open support of those who choose not to procreate.
Recognizing that the countries of North America and Europe
have caused and continue to cause the most serious environmental degradation, it is
essential that we who have more than we need
strive toward a simpler, less wasteful life-style.
We offer this minute in a
spirit of concern that while population control may be less of an issue in our
countries, we understand why larger families are important to others. We realize that for many countries without
the safety network of social security and government aid programs, the large
family is the primary care giver and protector of the poor.
Special emphasis must be given to
measures to reduce poverty, provide security for people as they age, and
empower women. Literacy, equal social status, and the general education of
women to broaden their life choices are measures that not only improve their
lives but also help delay childbirth and limit family size.
We urge our government to renew contributions to the
United Nations Fund for Population Activities, and we urge meetings to study
further the problem of rapid population growth and to discern how we are to act
on this concern as individuals and as meetings in our own communities, in our
country, and in support of countries throughout the world.
We will
work towards a more equitable sharing of the world's resources and towards
systems that will aid those in need, with the assurance that this will reduce
the need for large families.
Proposed changes: Asheville paragraph 5
changing population "control" to population “stabilization”
Diana Lalani of Cookeville Worship Group presented a
suggested sentence that would further modify the minute. With the inclusion of
this sentence, the second-to-the-last paragraph would read:
We urge our government to renew contributions to the
United Nations Fund for Population Activities. As individual meetings we will
study further the problems of rapid population growth, offer clearness to
prospective parents, and set aside several opportunities a year to explore our
own consumerist excesses, share problems, leadings, and possible solutions.
These proposals were presented as background for
discussion at the following business session.
15. Lifting
sanctions against Iraq
At Yearly Meeting 2000, Atlanta and Nashville Monthly
Meetings each presented minutes regarding sanctions against Iraq for
consideration by the Yearly Meeting. Monthly Meetings were asked to season the
concern in preparation for a special interest group at Yearly Meeting 2001 that
would draft a minute to be considered by the yearly meeting.
The clerk reported that she had heard from Berea
Monthly Meeting, which is supportive of a minute opposing sanctions. Michael
Harless reported that Boone Monthly Meeting has considered the issue and
determined that as a monthly meeting it could not support a minute but would
not stand in the way of a yearly meeting minute. Ron McDonald reported that
Memphis Monthly Meeting is engaged in considering whether to permit an
organization to set up an encampment on its lawn demonstrating the effects of
the sanctions on Iraqi citizens.
Pam Beziat offered to convene a group to draft a
minute for consideration at the next business session. Friends agreed that if
this interest group does not succeed in drafting an acceptable minute, SAYMA
will request that Nashville and Atlanta work together to develop a minute
before fall representative meeting.
16. Death
penalty
Yearly Meeting 2000 approved a statement reaffirming
Friends' traditional opposition to the death penalty and supporting a
moratorium on the death penalty as an interim step. Friends were encouraged to
generate follow-up minutes as they were led. The clerk asked if Monthly
Meetings had action to report.
Several Monthly Meetings reported on their actions on
the death penalty. Actions included demonstrations of various sorts as well as
the passage and publication of minutes. All who spoke affirmed the minute
approved last year. The clerk suggested that Friends submit minutes and a
record of other activities around the death penalty to the recording clerk, so
that the extent of SAYMA Friends' work against the death penalty can be
documented in the minutes of this yearly meeting. Friends agreed that monthly
meetings should submit their records to the recording clerk within four weeks.
The question arose of whether SAYMA has ever approved
a full-fledged minute on the death penalty. Archivist Bettina Wolff agreed to
research this question.
17. Communication
and accountability within SAYMA
In the course of discussion about gathering records of
monthly meeting action against the death penalty, Friends proposed various
methods of collecting such information. Friends agreed that within the coming
year the Advisory Committee should consider ways that communication and
accountability within the yearly meeting might be improved.
18. Relationship
between AFSC and SAYMA
Recording Clerk Carol Lamm read the minutes of the
June 7, 2001 called meeting for the consideration of formulating a minute concerning
SAYMA's relationship with the American Friends Service Committee. After the
reading, Friends who were present at that meeting approved the minutes, which
are attached in Appendix C.
Materials cited in the June 7 minutes were made
available for Friends to review in preparation for Saturday's meeting for
business session. In addition, Courtney Siceloff distributed a proposed minute
that he had composed.
19. Introduction
of proposed minute on global climate change
Kim Carlyle explained that SAYMA's Ecological Concerns
Network has been working over the course of the past year on a minute on global
climate change. Their work has included presenting a draft to representative
meeting and incorporating responses from monthly meetings. He presented the
latest draft of the proposed minute to be considered at the following business
session.
20. Introduction
of proposed minute seeking peace between Israel and Palestine
Dennis Gregg presented a minute from Crossville
Monthly Meeting regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The minute grew out
of continuing communications of a member of Crossville Meeting with friends in
the Middle East. The clerk read the minute, to be considered at the following
business session. The minute is as follows:
The Crossville Monthly Meeting of the Religious
Society of Friends has approved a minute calling on the U.S. Government to
facilitate the peaceful resolution of the conflict between the Israeli and
Palestinian governments.
The Meeting has received a report of a gathering held
at the Friends Boys School in Ramallah, Palestine of about 100 United States
citizens living in occupied Jerusalem, West Bank and Gaza Strip which deplored
the failure of our government to condemn the use of lethal weaponry against
Palestinian civilians. The Meeting calls on the U.S. Government to take the
lead in providing international protection for Palestinian civilians, to
support the demand for an immediate international inquiry into the root causes
of the conflict, to suspend arms shipments to Israel which are in violation of
the U.S. Arms Export Control Act, and to terminate the transfer of U.S. funds
to Israel (currently in the amount of over 6 billion dollars per year) for as
long as Israel remains in violation of UN resolutions and international law.
The Meeting believes that a peaceful solution can and
must be found and calls upon our government at whatever level is needed to
facilitate a termination of hostilities and the establishment of peace between
Israel and Palestine.
21. Southern
Appalachian Friend
Kim Carlyle, as co-editor with Susan Carlyle of the Southern
Appalachian Friend newsletter, asked that Friends send in news articles
about Meetings or, if they just send minutes, at least highlight matters of
importance that would be worth reporting in the newsletter. Letters to the
editor, articles, illustrations and even corrections are welcome. The
newsletter is printed on 100 per cent recycled, chlorine-free paper. Meetings
should let the Carlyles know if they are not receiving the appropriate number
of copies. The newsletter is published four times a year, approximately
quarterly. The due date for submissions for the next issue is June 22.
22. YouthQuake
Priscilla Ewen presented a report on her involvement
with YouthQuake. Her report is attached in Appendix D.
23. Personnel
Committee
Assistant Clerk Sharon Annis reported that the
Personnel Committee had hired Therese Hildebrand as the first administrative
assistant for the SAYF program. The Personnel Committee's responsibility has
been evolving as the staff grows. She encouraged Friends to support staff by
responding to requests from the staff, such as requests for information.
24. Friends
Peace Teams
Kathleen Hardie reported on the work of the Friends
Peace Teams. Structurally a subcommittee of Baltimore Yearly Meeting's Peace
and Social Concerns Committee, the organization works primarily through three
avenues. FPT helps Friends get involved in on-the-ground work, such as the
African Great Lakes Peace Initiative. FPT helps Quakers connect with partner
organizations such as Christian Peacemaker Teams, Peace Brigades International and
Quaker Volunteer Witness and Training. FPT also promotes the concept of every
Meeting as a center for peace. Now that she had become familiar with the
organization, she would like to be able to report to FPT on SAYMA meetings'
peace work. She asked Friends to keep people in FPT and on the ground
internationally in their prayers.
June 9, 2001 - Seventh Day (Saturday) 9:30 am
25. Opening
After a period of silence, the clerk sang:
Thank you for these Friends, Lord,
Thank you for these Friends,
These faithful,
These faithful,
These faithful Friends.
Julia Ewen beautifully told the story of the lost
coin, spoke of the importance of feminine images in the Bible, especially in
Jesus' teachings, and affirmed the value of every person in the community.
The clerk read:
This is my commandment,
That ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Greater love hath no one than this, that one lay down
one's life for one's friends.
Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.
Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant
knoweth not what the lord doeth; but I have called you friends.
John
15:12-15
She commented that this is what the Religious Society
of Friends was at its inception. However time and culture have changed, we are
the Religious Society of Friends. We are known by the witness of our faith.
26. Announcements
Administrative Assistant Mary Calhoun asked
representatives to pick up directory correction materials at the rise of
meeting.
Copies of A Guide to Our Faith and Our Practice
will be available on First Day for $2.00 per copy, cash and carry.
Bill Reynolds announced that free sample copies of Friends
Journal are available here at Yearly Meeting.
Dennis Gregg shared the joyful news that his daughter
Elizabeth will be one of three Friends Committee on National Legislation
interns this coming year. He also invited Friends to talk with him about a new
school in Crossville which he has been involved in founding.
Kathy Johnson announced a meeting of the Ecological
Concerns Network to continue its discussion of the greening of SAYMA.
Sharon Annis announced a meeting regarding religious
education and the possibility of establishing a SAYMA religious education committee.
Susan Carlyle made announcements regarding check-out
and recognized volunteers who assisted the co-registrars.
Margaret Cooley announced mealtime meetings of the
Friends Committee on Unity with Nature, Right Sharing of World Resources and
Friends Committee on National Legislation. She also announced arrangements for
an afternoon hike and intergenerational games.
Kit Potter announced a meeting of the Ministry and
Nurture Committee.
27. Epistle
Committee
The clerk read the following passage:
When work does not turn out as was expected or
intended, do not let it depress you. If you are working from a right motive,
and doing your best under the guidance of a loving Father in heaven, your work
cannot be and is not a failure.
Joseph John Armistead, 1913
Quaker Faith and Practice: The Book of
Christian Discipline of the Yearly Meeting
of the Religious Society of
Friends (Quakers) in Britain, 20.04
The
clerk then asked for volunteers for the Epistle Committee. Hibbard Thatcher,
Diana Lalani and Mary Litch responded to the call and will serve as the Epistle
Committee.
28. Southern Appalachian Young Friends
Steering Committee
Margaret Farmer,
co-clerk of the SAYF Steering Committee, reported that SAYF has had seven
weekend retreats and two combined weekend meetings of the Steering, Nurturing
and Oversight Committees and is currently holding a SAYF session at Yearly
Meeting. It has been a good year. She is grateful for yesterday's appointment
of Kathleen Mavournin as co-clerk of the steering committee; the hiring of an
administrative assistant; the new members of the steering committee; and the
work of the personnel committee in hiring the administrative assistant. She
expressed thanks to Tim Lamm for maintaining the SAYF database, and to Kendall
Ivie for putting SAYF retreat registration forms on the web site where
late-planning teens can find them.
Friends minuted their appreciation of Margaret Farmer's hard work over
the years.
29. Visitors
Daryl Bergquist
introduced two staff members of the American Friends Service Committee South
East Region staff: Benita Thompson, director of the Help Increase the Peace
program, and Kara Vona, associate director of the HIP program. They were
present at Yearly Meeting to present two HIP workshops.
30. Appointment of Faith and Practice
Revision Committee
The clerk read the
following sentence from SAYMA's A Guide to Our Faith and Our Practice:
In the year 2000 and each decade thereafter, Yearly
Meeting shall consider whether it will appoint a revision committee to review
the entire Guide.
Yearly Meeting 2000 appointed an examining committee
to discern whether revisions are needed. Dick Houghton presented the report of
that Examining Committee:
The following members of the Examining Committee met
at the Nashville Friends Meeting House, 21 October 2000: Free Polazzo
(convener), Penelope Wright, Janet Minshall, Dennis Gregg, and Richard
Houghton; Kathleen Hardie and Steve Meredith were absent.
Free was asked to clerk the committee. He accepted.
The charge of the committee was to consider whether
the Yearly Meeting should appoint a revision committee to review the entire
Guide.
After three hours of meeting there was agreement that
we should recommend the appointment of a Revision Committee to focus primarily
on updating and clarifying the organization of our Guide to Our Faith and Our
Practice.
The attached pages [note: not included in the Yearly
Meeting 2001 minutes] are the committee's offerings of 18 queries and
suggestions to the Revision Committee when it begins its deliberations.
The clerk read the following portion from the Guide:
This [revision] committee, through prayerful
consideration, shall weigh whether continuing corporate revelation requires any
change. Examining and revision committees shall consist of five or more
members, at least two of whom shall have served on a previous examining
committee. The committees shall continue to serve until Yearly Meeting has
approved their discontinuance.
In response to a request for a summary of the content
of the changes to be considered, Examining Committee members explained that
first of all, the Guide needs to be reprinted in a somewhat reorganized
format simply to incorporate changes that the Yearly Meeting has made over the
years. In addition, monthly meetings and individuals have raised concerns. A
committee would consider the suggestions that have been made. Also, a number of
committees have been formed but are not reflected in the Guide.
Friends approved the appointment of a Revision
Committee. Geeta McGahey, Nancy Whitt, Free Polazzo, Larry Ingle, Penelope
Wright and Missy Ivie volunteered to serve on the committee. Other Friends are
welcome to join them. Free Polazzo agreed to convene the committee. The
committee will determine how to function, including how much of the work can be
done using the Internet.
31. Right
Sharing of World Resources
Geeta McGahey presented highlights of a report on the
Right Sharing of World Resources program, attached in Appendix D. She described
her personal excitement as people she has worked with in India went through the
grant process and received funding for their work. RSWR staff has grown both
administratively and programmatically. A part-time education staff person will
develop materials meetings can use.
32. Anti-racism
workshop
Assistant Clerk Sharon Annis shared information on a
fall anti-racism workshop at Pendle Hill. She then read some excerpts from
monthly meeting State of the Meeting reports that she felt reflected common
themes.
The clerk read a selection from the Atlanta State of
the Meeting report on their program entitled Our Role As Individuals In
America's Racial History (ORAIIARH). She asked whether someone from SAYMA might
be led to attend the Pendle Hill anti-racism workshop. Sallie Prugh reported
that Gita Larson of Columbia Monthly Meeting, who has been active in
anti-racism work, responded enthusiastically to the suggestion that she might
attend. Geeta McGahey suggested Colin Sugioka of Celo Monthly Meeting, who
carries a concern for anti-racism work and is geographically isolated from
others doing this work. Evan Richardson suggested Joan MacKenzie of Asheville
Monthly Meeting as another possible participant. At Yearly Meeting 2000, Joan
MacKenzie was inspired by the Atlanta ORAIIARH project and hopes to begin a
similar program in Asheville Monthly Meeting as part of her commitment to
anti-racism work.
Friends approved offering to send Gita Larson, Colin
Sugioka and Joan MacKenzie to the Pendle Hill anti-racism workshop, with SAYMA
paying half of the cost and suggesting that their respective monthly meetings
pay the other half. The clerk requested the addresses of these Friends.
33. Treasurer's
report
Treasurer Kendall Ivie presented the following report:
SAYMA currently has $27,838 in available funds. SAYMA will end the fiscal year 2001 with
approximately $25,000 in available funds plus about $5,800 in dedicated funds.
See the Account Balances Report for details.
The 2001 SAYMA Yearly Meeting is expected to have
income of $23,500 and expenses of $23,700 creating a loss for the Yearly
Meeting of $200.
For the fiscal 2001 year to date SAYMA has income of
$62,312 and expenses of $50,209 leaving a net increase of $12,103. Details of income and expense to date are
included in the Fiscal Year 2002 Proposed Budget.
There are several reasons for the large surplus:
1) Delay
in hiring SAYF Administrative Assistant
2) Budgeted
benefits for paid staff not come to fruition
3) SAYF
expended about $4000 less than budgeted
The Treasurer requests that reimbursement requests be
submitted in a timely manner.
The financial report, which includes current
year-to-date income and expenses, account balances, and the proposed budget for
the coming year, is attached in Appendix C.
Friends accepted the treasurer's report for the
current fiscal year.
34. Budget
for July 2001-June 2002
A Friend asked the rationale for proposing a $200
contribution to Right Sharing of World Resources while other wider Quaker
organizations receive $800. Treasurer Kendall Ivie explained that as far as he
could recall, the $200 amount was set when RSWR became independent of Friends
World Committee for Consultation, and the amount has not changed since then.
Dennis Gregg, a former finance committee member and treasurer, provided the
historical information that SAYMA used to contribute an amount equal to its
interest income to RSWR.
Friends discussed the pros and cons of reducing the
assessment from $55 to $50, as the treasurer had suggested might be possible.
Some felt that a reduction would be helpful to monthly meetings. Others
suggested that this is an opportunity to increase contributions to wider Quaker
organizations, including raising RSWR to $800, or for increasing scholarship
assistance for attending Yearly Meeting. The fact that the finance committee
has not functioned this year was a concern. It was suggested that before the
Yearly Meeting considers a reduction in the assessment, the finance committee
should carefully review anticipated expenses for coming years, since decisions
made previously may have financial implications that have not yet been fully
reflected in spending.
Approval of the budget was deferred until the
following business session to allow Friends to reflect further on the issues
raised.
35. Proposed
minute on population
Friends considered the proposed minute on population
presented during the previous business session. (See #14.) A concern was raised
about the reference to the countries of North America and Europe causing
environmental degradation without acknowledging the role of other countries
such as Japan, Australia and New Zealand. It was proposed to change the
relevant sentence to read:
Recognizing that the more prosperous countries have
caused and continue to cause the most serious environmental degradation,
it is essential that we who have more than we need strive
toward a simpler, less wasteful life-style.
Several Friends expressed concern about the proposed
revision from the Cookeville Worship Group because it committed monthly
meetings to specific actions that the meetings have not agreed to. It was
suggested that it would be more appropriate for SAYMA to encourage monthly
meetings to take the actions. A concern was also expressed that in the idea of
"offering clearness to prospective parents" there be no hint of pressure
to limit family size to a specific number of children.
Friends asked that the population minute be seasoned
further. Bob McGahey volunteered to convene this process.
36. Relationship
between SAYMA and AFSC
The clerk reviewed the state of SAYMA's consideration
of its relationship to the American Friends Service Committee. Three monthly
meetings have brought forward minutes on the subject. A called meeting on
Thursday to consider formulating a minute to propose to Yearly Meeting did not
result in such a minute, although a minute proposed by an individual at the
conclusion is included in the minutes of that meeting. Yesterday a second
individual distributed a proposed minute. Subsequently another proposed minute
has been developed by three individuals. The clerk advised that because these
latest minutes had not been seasoned by monthly meetings, it would not be in
right order to consider them at this yearly meeting. She asked Friends whether
they wished to hear the latest minute, and Friends requested that she read it.
This proposed minute was written by Bert Skellie and Courtney Siceloff of
Atlanta Monthly Meeting and Becky Ingle of Chattanooga Monthly Meeting:
We treasure the important contributions of the
American Friends Service Committee (AFSC) to bringing our testimonies into the
world. As Friends, we seek to live up to the standards of Quaker testimonies
and practices.
We commit ourselves to ensuring that our Quaker
service organization, the AFSC, continues its long history of bearing witness
to Quaker values. We will work to help AFSC maintain both internal operating
processes and programs which are based on Spirit-led Quaker principles.
Larry Ingle spoke to the issue of right order, stating
that in his understanding Friends gathered at Yearly Meeting can take action as
they are led. Geeta McGahey spoke to the seasoning that had taken place over a
period of years at both the monthly and yearly meeting levels on this issue,
and her sense that adopting a minute such as the one proposed above would be an
important step forward in healing and action.
Friends approved the proposed minute. It is reprinted
in Appendix C.
Two Friends spoke of this minute serving not as an end
but as the beginning of work that now needs to take place outside of yearly meeting
sessions.
37. Southern
Appalachian Young Friends Oversight Committee
Jeremiah Gold-Hopton presented the following report
from the SAYF Oversight Committee:
We considered laying down the SAYF Oversight
Committee. However we have decided to recommend that, for the time being, the
SAYF Oversight Committee should remain as a standing Yearly Meeting committee.
The Oversight Committee may call appropriate ad hoc committees to convene for
specific tasks.
Pat Boggs, Sara Rose, and John Potter will continue to
serve. Jeremiah Gold-Hopton is rolling off.
We see the need to support the transition to having an
administrative assistant. There is continuing need for ENERGETIC! FAPs who like
teenagers and are grounded in Quaker faith and practice. We also see a need for
support from local meetings for local resource people and local arrangements.
We wish to applaud the work of the SAYF Steering
Committee. It is our sense that they are doing THE most important
in-reach and outreach for new and continuing Quakers that is being done in our
Yearly Meeting today.
Friends approved the SAYF Oversight Committee report
and the recommendations included in it.
38. Evaluation
Yearly Meeting Planning Committee Clerk Mary Ann
Downey encouraged Friends to thank the members of the Yearly Meeting Planning
Committee for their work and to fill out the evaluation forms provided. She
also announced that copies of Arthur Larrabee's evening presentation are
available.
39. Site
Selection Committee
Larry Ingle reported that the Site Selection Committee
is still working to find a site west of the mountains for Yearly Meeting 2002.
The committee will report to fall representative meeting.
40. Nominating
Committee
Nominating Committee Clerk Lee Ann Swarm reported that
the committee had made substantial progress since yesterday's report. She
announced positions that were still unfilled.
41. Closing
The clerk announced that, to her great regret, no more
wider Quaker organization reports would be presented, due to the short amount
of time remaining for business session. Written reports will be included in the
minutes.
The clerk asked Friends to join her in singing the
song that rose out of the silence at the beginning of the meeting.
June 10, 2001 - First Day (Sunday) 9:30 am
42. Opening
After a period of silence, the clerk read the
following message from Deborah Fisch:
I realize that it is unorthodox to send a written
communication to you. When making airline reservations I learned that it is not
easy to get from Des Moines, Iowa, to Warren Wilson College. It necessitates
not one but two plane changes, and therefore limits the flights I can take to
make those connections. To get home today at a reasonable price I had to leave
your sessions early (at 5 this morning). By now I hope I am somewhere between
Charlotte and Kansas City, holding all of you in my heart as you conclude your
annual sessions. I am sorry to be missing your final sessions, for I always
find them to be a particularly sweet time. But I know even as the miles take me
farther from you, there is that of God you have shared with me these last few
days that will always be a part of me.
I didn't want to leave without saying thank you for
the gracious welcome and gentle care you have gifted me with these last few
days. I treasure the opportunities I had to share with many of you over meals,
after sessions, and while walking from building to building. I will particularly
remember your desire to stay the course and be faithful to your business
process, the joy with which you received your plenary presenters, and the love
that you shared with each other.
I am blessed to have the joy of traveling among
Friends such as you, listening to how the Spirit is working in our meetings and
hearing news and greetings of Friends. I want you to know that I will be
faithful in sharing the gifts of the Divine that you have so graciously shared
with me. A long time ago I read a simple sentence that I can now share with
others as my experience too. "I knew not that of God in me until entwined
with that of God in thee."
I hope to see many of you in a few weeks at FGC
Gathering. Until the time our paths may cross again may our journeys continue
to be blessed by God's grace and love.
The clerk read the following message from Arthur
Larrabee:
I am sorry that I am not here to say good-bye in
person. This would have been my preference. This has been a most wonderful
visit for me. Thank you for your welcome and your hospitality. I have felt
appreciated and honored by you collectively and individually and I shall
treasure the memory of my sojourn among you.
I pray for God's blessings on the life and work of
this Yearly Meeting.
Please come to visit in Philadelphia, and when you do,
ask for me.
The clerk then recalled the passage from George Fox
that Arthur Larrabee brought to us, with emphasis on the importance of the
first part:
Be patterns, be
examples in all countries, places, islands, nations, wherever you come, that
your carriage and life may preach among all sorts of people, and to them; then
you will come to walk cheerfully over the world, answering that of God in every
one.
George Fox, 1656
43. Proposed
minute on Iraq
Pam Beziat presented the following proposed minute on
Iraq. The minute was prepared by six Friends who met following the previous
day's business session. They used input from Celo and Memphis Monthly Meetings
as well as the minutes from Nashville and Atlanta Monthly Meetings brought to
Yearly Meeting 2000.
Moved by our belief that every human life is sacred,
Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association (SAYMA) of the Religious
Society of Friends calls on elected officials to support the end of economic sanctions
imposed by the United Nations on Iraq. Sanctions against Iraq have caused
devastating effects on the life, health, and social structure of civilians.
These sanctions constitute a violation of the fundamental principles of
international law, the peacemaking principles and intent of the United Nations
Charter, and the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child. The
effects of the sanctions continue to be documented by organizations such as
UNICEF and by the former U.N. Humanitarian Coordinator in Iraq, Denis Halliday.
The governments of the United States and Iraq share
responsibility for the political deadlock that has caused these deadly
conditions to continue for ten years. We, as citizens of the United States,
bear a grave responsibility for the actions of our government. It is urgent
that an alternative solution be found that will end the United Nation's
economic embargo. Broad economic sanctions against Iraq have shown themselves
to be both immoral and ineffective and should be stopped.
A concern was raised that the minute does not explain
what the alternative policies might be. Others suggested that the implication
is clear enough that dialogue would be a next step, dialogue that will only be
possible if restrictions on travel and other communication are lifted.
Friends approved the minute and directed that the
clerk send the minute to elected representatives within SAYMA's geographical
boundaries. The clerk asked for suggestions of other officials, news media or
other organizations to which the minute might be sent. The minute is reprinted
in Appendix C.
44. Nominating
Committee
Nominating Committee Clerk Lee Ann Swarm presented the
following nominations for SAYMA positions:
Position Person From To
Assistant Clerk John Geary 6/01 6/03
Member, Nominating Committee Perry
Treadwell 6/01 6/03
Member, Nominating Committee Jess Purvis 6/01 6/03
Member, Personnel Committee Judy Prince 6/01 6/03
Member, Personnel Committee Lee Ann Swarm 6/01 6/03
Clerk, Finance Committee Chris Berg 6/01 6/03
Member, Finance Committee Peter Reilly 6/01 6/03
Member, Finance Committee Dick Houghton 6/01 6/03
Co-Clerk, Ecological Concerns Network Kim Carlyle 6-00 6/01
Co-Clerk, Ecological Concerns Network Kathy Johnson 6/01 6/03
Co-Registrar Carol
Gray 6/01 6/03
AFSC SERO Executive Committee Daryl Bergquist 6/00 6/02
Member, SAYF Oversight Committee Pat Boggs 6/99 6/02
AFSC Corporation Alternate Colin Sugioka 6/01 6/03
AFSC Corporation Alternate Priscilla Ewen 6/01 6/03
FWCC Representative Lauren
Mitchell 6/02 6/04
Co-Clerk, YM Planning Committee Bill
Holland 6/01 6/02
and Ex-Officio Finance
Committee Member
Friends approved these appointments.
The Nominating Committee recommends that the Ministry
and Nurture Co-Clerk be appointed by the committee. Friends approved.
William Penn House has requested a representative from
SAYMA for its national consultative committee, and that SAYMA hear regular
reports from William Penn House. The Nominating Committee recommends that Nancy
Lee-Riffe fill this position, as she has done informally for the past two
years. Next year it may be possible to appoint one of the SAYMA FCNL
representatives to this position, since the national consultative committee
meets immediately preceding meetings of the FCNL Board. Friends approved the
appointment of Nancy Lee-Riffe to this position for one year, with the
understanding that SAYMA's commitment to filling this position will be reviewed
at next Yearly Meeting.
45. Global
climate change
Assistant Clerk Sharon Annis re-read the proposed minute
presented the previous day:
SAYMA Friends recognize that unprecedented rate of
change in our global climate is causing rising global temperature, diminishing
polar ice, changing local weather patterns, and increasing frequency of severe
storms. We also recognize that human activity, largely the combustion of fossil
fuels, is a major cause of these changes.
Further, this global climate change is destabilizing
many of our planet's ecosystems, reducing their production of foods, medicines,
and other products for humans, and accelerating species extinction.
Human refugees from droughts, floods, and rising sea
levels, and the human suffering caused by crop failures and the spread of
infectious diseases from warmer climates are
stressing societies and governments, setting the stage for violence, oppression,
and conflict. Our peace testimony leads us to find ways to remove these
potential causes of war.
Friends' concerns for simplicity, right sharing of resources, and equality, and our recognition that the effects of global warming desecrate God's creation, lead us to issue an urgent call for Friends to make substantive changes in their lifestyles including:
·
reducing use of fossil
fuels--for transportation; home heating, air-conditioning, and lighting; and
recreation--through conservation, efficiency, and use of alternative energy
sources (human, solar, and wind power).
·
reducing industrial
combustion of fossil fuels through informed choices of products and services.
·
working for public
policy that:
ü
supports international
agreements to reduce heat-trapping gases
ü
discourages use of carbon-based
fuels and encourages use of renewable sources of energy
ü
develops, supports, and
promotes both local and long distance public transportation systems.
We urge Friends Meetings and individuals to act on
these urgent concerns. We call on Monthly Meetings & Worship Groups to
report on such actions at the next Yearly Meeting. We ask Friends to consider
how to develop social supports that enable us to move into spiritually informed
daily efforts to change our lives and act on our concerns.
A question was raised regarding the mechanism by which monthly meetings will report on their actions. The Ecological Concerns Network agreed to undertake the collection and presentation of this information. Friends approved the minute, which is reprinted in Appendix C.
46. Budget
Treasurer Kendall Ivie reported that two requests have
been made for consideration by the finance committee: an increase for the
Ecological Concerns Network from $200 to $600, and an increase from $200 to
$800 in SAYMA's contribution to Right Sharing of World Resources.
It was suggested that if SAYMA has a surplus, an open
invitation should be made to monthly meetings for suggestions on how to spend
the surplus. The treasurer clarified that the proposed budget is not based on a
reduced assessment, and it shows a net loss of $8400 that would bring down the
surplus by $8400. Several Friends spoke of the need for an orderly
consideration of a variety of budgetary issues by the finance committee before
substantive changes are made.
The clerk and treasurer reviewed the appropriate time
frame for suggestions for the coming year's budget. Requests should be made to
the finance committee early in the calendar year so that the finance committee
can prepare a proposed budget for presentation at spring representative
meeting. However, since the finance committee did not function this past
spring, Friends asked that the committee work over the summer in preparation
for fall representative meeting. Monthly meetings and committees that have
financial requests or suggestions should communicate with the finance
committee. The finance committee can make recommendations to fall
representative meeting, which has the authority to make adjustments to the
budget.
A question about salary increases and benefits was
raised. Sharon Annis, clerk of the personnel committee, explained that the
committee is working on issues regarding staff hours and compensation.
A question was raised about why amounts are not
included for Junior Yearly Meeting line items. The treasurer explained that all
the expenses for Yearly Meeting have been combined, and that the Yearly Meeting
Planning Committee will determine how the money will be broken down.
Friends approved the budget, with Free Polazzo
recorded as standing aside because of lack of input from standing committees.
The approved budget is included in Appendix C.
47. World
Gathering of Young Adult Friends
Lauren Mitchell reported that at the most recent FWCC
triennial, the idea arose of a third World Gathering of Young Adult Friends.
The site is likely to be Ireland, sometime between 2004 and 2006. The planning
group is looking for a coordinator or co-coordinators to pull off this event.
She asked Friends for suggestions of individuals who might play this role, and
for any other support Friends can offer.
48. Assessment
A question was raised as to the status of the
assessment. The clerk advised that at this point the assessment has not
changed, and that the assessment is one aspect of the financial matters that
the finance committee should consider before fall representative meeting.
Friends approved asking the finance committee to bring forward a recommendation
regarding the assessment.
49. Registrar's
report
Co-registrar Missy Ivie reported the following
attendance statistics:
Total
in attendance 248
Adults 185
Junior
Yearly Meeting participants (children) 18
SAYF
participants (teens) 45
SAYF
Friendly Adult Presences (adults in dorm) 11
Young
Adult Friends 5
Meetings and Worship Groups represented 33
A concern about the small number of children was
raised, with the request that Friends consider why more families are not
attending. Cost may be an issue, and if so, more scholarship assistance would
be important.
50. Minute
on Israeli and Palestinian conflict
The clerk asked whether Friends were ready to consider
the minute presented Friday from Crossville Monthly Meeting seeking peace
between Israel and Palestine.
After brief discussion, Friends approved asking
monthly meetings to season the minute, and to forward their responses to
Crossville Monthly Meeting. Friends expressed appreciation to Crossville for
bringing this matter to our attention.
Dennis Gregg expressed his dissatisfaction that
representative meeting did not consider this minute after it was submitted last
fall, on the grounds that no individual could be present. He stated that
Friends take written words seriously, and he felt this minute could have been
considered as written.
51. Junior
Yearly Meeting Epistle
Junior Yearly Meeting coordinator Georgi Schmitt
presented the epistle below, as children joyfully displayed full-body
silhouettes, action drawings with feelings, and a hand garland. They sang a
song and closed by sharing their individual highlights: building boats, splat
ball (baseball with oranges), kick the can with Phil (Neal), Quaker ball,
juggling, candle making and calligraphy. Coordinator Georgi Schmitt thanked the
Friendly adults who spent time with the children; many of these volunteers
spent many hours with JYM.
Our theme was Friendship. The theme's connecting link
to Yearly Meeting was the aspects of friendship that lead us to being whole.
Every morning started with Meeting for Worship
followed by the "Squeeze Game." On Day One we discussed the
appropriate or not appropriate squeeze after group prayer. Some comments by the
children: "Sometimes it stops my prayer," and "It lets us know
when we're finished."
During the course of our time together we: juggled,
played games with Susan Penn and Virginia and David Wood, sang, listened to
stories, swam, drew action body figures, outlined our friends, made candles and
boats and then sailed the boats on the pond. Some of us did calligraphy. We all
played Splat Ball and most joined in Quaker Ball.
Budding caring and friendships and discussions emerged
as Nicholas took Irina's hand to help her stay with the group as they hiked to
the farm. Children spoke of the death penalty: "I don't think the death
penalty is right but I think it's better than dying in a cage." "We
are friends because we stick together even when we're mad." Some of the
highlights of the weekend were expressed by the children as part of the final
session.
Spiritual balance, friendship and caring--all aspects
of wholeness--all parts of Junior Yearly Meeting 2001.
Friends minuted their appreciation for Georgi Schmitt,
who has brought the children her presence with song, storytelling and gentle
manner for many years.
52. Southern
Appalachian Young Friends Epistle
Trina Farmer and Jessica Anderson presented the
following epistle:
This year has been a time of solid love and
commitment. We began our journey in August with a Nurturing and Steering
Committee retreat. Together we focused on the query "How can we encourage
positive interactions within our community?"
Our next retreat, which was for all members of the
SAYF group, was in September and was held in West Knoxville. We volunteered at
a local homeless shelter and spend quiet time in outdoors worship sharing.
In October we gathered at Penn Center for our annual
retreat of bonding with the islanders and helping them beautify their community
areas. It was a weekend of enjoyable work followed by a potluck organized by
the local people and a joint talent show.
In November we met in Asheville for a weekend of
relaxation and self-expression. To achieve our goal, we bathed in natural hot
springs and played games with the focus of self-expression.
Chapel Hill hosted our next retreat in January. Over
the weekend we participated in workshops on human rights and interrupting
violence.
Next the Nurturing and Steering Committees met in
Columbia, South Carolina to discuss how the year was progressing and we planned
our retreat schedule for the upcoming year.
In March we gathered in Asheville once again. This
time we went to a shelter for battered women and children. There we cleared
space for a garden and playground, painted a building and helped organize their
thrift shop.
Our last retreat was in April at Hard Labor Creek
State Park in Georgia. We enjoyed a weekend focused around conflict resolution.
We had an afternoon of activities on the theme, then a heart circle and drum
circle around a bonfire.
Now, here we are at SAYMA Yearly Meeting. Throughout
this weekend we have joined the wider SAYMA community for workshops and
inspirational speakers. In addition we had our own workshops on yoga and an
energy workshop with John Calvi. We held a graduation ceremony for our seven
seniors and together shared an emotional night of reminiscing and farewells.
Together we completed another successful year of
spiritual growth and community. Thank you for supporting us in our efforts to
grow with you all.
53. SAYMA
Epistle
Friends approved the following epistle, presented by
Mary Litch on behalf of the Epistle Committee:
To Friends everywhere:
We greet you from the lovely campus of Warren Wilson
College near the Smoky Mountains of North Carolina where we held the 31st
session of the Southern Appalachian Yearly Meeting and Association (SAYMA). Our
theme this year was "Teach Us to Be Whole: Gather Us, Heal Us, Lead
Us," which was reflected in many of our Yearly Meeting activities.
We opened Yearly Meeting on Sixth Month 7, 2001 with
Meeting for Worship, followed by a special called meeting to explore the
relationship between SAYMA and the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).
After heart-felt sharing and further deliberation in business sessions, we
affirmed and renewed our commitment to our relationship with AFSC.
Other highlights of our time together included:
hearing the State of the Meeting reports from meetings and worship groups large
and small; engaging in workshops, where we learned to nurture ourselves, our
relationships, our communities and our planet; and listening to Arthur Larrabee
share his views of the first steps toward wholeness. We celebrated in song and
dance, we reveled in the joyous message Earthmama (a.k.a. "Joyce Johnson
Rouse") and built community by including many intergenerational
activities. We are heartened by the presence of so many young people, toddlers
to teens, and especially glad for the teens in the Southern Appalachian Young
Friends (SAYF) program, who this year shared more Yearly Meeting joys and
efforts with us.
We have the sense of growing as a Yearly Meeting into
greater awareness of needs, both within and without, and of our challenge and
opportunity to change our structure, our Guide to Our Faith and Our Practice,
and our managing of funds.
As we look towards meeting west of the mountains next
year, we savor Earthmama's statement: "These individual threads bind us
together to strengthen community."
54. Young
Adult Friends Epistle
Young Adult Friends made a dramatic presentation of
their epistle which was warmly received by the rest of the meeting. The final
highlight was the introduction of the seven SAYF graduates who have joined
their number.
Note on YAF epistle: All underlined words have
appropriately cheesy synergistic-type hand motions. Make up sufficient
silliness accordingly.
Sign: Hold
one hand up as if holding crystal ball over the head.
Long-range:
Extend one arm out while keeping the other at rib-level.
Vision: Like
"long-range," only at head level.
God: Hold
both hands fingers upward, at head level, wiggling fingers.
Groove:
Wiggle fingers on one hip.
Cows: Make
Y-signs like horns.
Laboring:
Hand on forehead--"Alas" gesture.
Our theme for this Yearly Meeting was "Where
is everybody?" We had a vision of people, many people.
But there were only five of us. Hi Jess! Hi Jonah! Hi Priscilla! Hi Lauren! Hi
John! In addition to our small numbers, we also found ourselves laboring
with exhaustion. Then we received a sign from God that to perk
ourselves up, we should go to business meeting. Upon emerging from these
meetings, we found new wholeness in our positions of service
to the Yearly Meeting. Business meeting inspired us to hold more
business meeting, of YAF-type business. And we received a of a Long-Range Vision from God! We
were led to ask that age-old question: "Who the heck are we?" We knew
we had to be something more than aging SAYFers who happen to kidnap people of a
similar age. As we develop this identity, we wish to grow large enough
to plan activities for Yearly Meeting in advance, while still continuing
our involvement in the SAYMA community.
Then, we remembered that there were only five of us!
So, we invented a short-term plan to be a vehicle to our Long-Range
Vision from God! First, we obtained a "powerful" position
on the Planning Committee which will enable us to advertise our Long-Range
Vision from God better. To continue our evangelism, we will be writing an
article for the Southern Appalachian Friend and hopefully creating some
type of website to help facilitate our communication with Friends
who were * cough * not here at this gathering. We again felt the press
of exhaustion and off we went on a foot journey to groove
with the cows. Seeing such intelligent beasts, we were inspired
to deep philosophical conversations about education, meaning, and
death. By Saturday night, we gathered a new group of
converts--seven SAYF graduates. We celebrated our population growth and
our Long-Range Vision from God with ice cream and donuts late into the
night. In conclusion, we ask you to go tell it on the mountain and help spread
our Long-Range Vision from God to all of those unknown and
possibly derelict YAFs who can help us construct our Beloved
Community.
55. Farewell
from the clerk
Outgoing clerk Penelope Wright read the following
haiku:
As
the year concludes--
wanderer's
hat on my head,
sandals
on my feet.
Basho
She then turned the meeting over to incoming clerk
Sharon Annis.
56. Date of
Yearly Meeting 2002
The clerk asked what dates the Site Selection
Committee has under consideration for next year. Larry Ingle responded that
they have been discussing June 6-8 with Bryan College, the site under
consideration; the committee does not know if other dates are available.
A concern was raised that an early June date is
problematic for high school students, especially graduating seniors who must
choose between attending graduation or attending Yearly Meeting. Another Friend
pointed out that proximity in time to the FGC Gathering can create difficulties
for Friends who attend both.
Friends requested that the Site Selection Committee
consider the third weekend in June as the first preference.
A Friend requested that SAYMA make such decisions
earlier so that Friends can schedule their wider Quaker organization
responsibilities around SAYMA's dates.
57. Representative
Meetings
September representative meeting will be in
Birmingham, September 8. Connie LaMonte announced a contra dance that evening
that night in case Friends would like to work that into their plans.
December representative meeting will be either in
Nashville or West Knoxville, depending on the location of Yearly Meeting 2002.
The clerk advised Friends that some committees may
meet on Friday evenings before representative meeting.
58. Approval
of minutes
Friends approved these minutes throughout the course
of the Yearly Meeting, subject to final editing by the clerk and recording
clerk.
59. Appreciation
of outgoing clerk
Clerk Sharon Annis invited Friends to settle into
silence and to speak out of the silence in appreciation of outgoing clerk
Penelope Wright. She asked the recording clerk to note the messages so that
they can be compiled in a minute by representative meeting. A rich time of
sharing followed.
(archive copy signed) (archive copy signed)
Penelope
Wright, Clerk Carol
Lamm, Recording Clerk
Yearly Meeting #31 of Southern Appalachian Yearly
Meeting and Association
Warren Wilson College, Swannanoa, North Carolina
Appendices
Appendix
A: Yearly Meeting Attenders
Appendix
B: State of the Meeting Reports
Asheville
Atlanta
Berea
Birmingham
Boone
Brevard
Celo
Charleston
Chattanooga
Cleveland
Columbia
Crossville
Foxfire
Memphis
Nashville
New Moon Worship Group
Northwest Georgia Worship Group
Swannanoa
West Knoxville
Appendix
C: General
Minutes of Called Meeting for
Consideration of Formulating a Minute Concerning SAYMA's Relationship with the
American Friends Service Committee (#18)
Minute Regarding the Relationship between SAYMA and
AFSC (#36)
Minute Regarding Sanctions against Iraq (#43)
Minute Regarding Global Climate Change (#45)
Financial Statements and Budget (#33, #34 and #46)
Ecological Concerns Network Report
Appendix
D: Wider Quaker Organization Reports
American Friends Service Committee
American Friends Service Committee -- South East
Region
Friends Committee on National Legislation
Friends Committee on Outworld Relations
Friends Committee on Unity with Nature
Friends General Conference
Friends World Committee for Consultation
Right Sharing of World Resources
YouthQuake